Navin Nayak

Only three years after Democrats paid a high price in the 2010 midterms for pushing legislation to reduce fossil fuel emissions, climate change is back at the top of the party’s agenda.

That turnaround didn’t happen by accident.

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A big part of the issue’s return to political prominence, Democrats and environmentalists say, has stemmed from a top-to-bottom strategic shift in the green community. No group has played a bigger part in that shift than the League of Conservation Voters, for which Navin Nayak serves as senior vice president for campaigns.

The 37-year-old Nayak said the disappointment of 2010 taught environmental advocates a valuable lesson.

“It’s not enough for the environmental community to make a better policy argument than our opponents. We need to make a better political case, too,” he said.

Under Nayak’s watch, LCV has been selective about which races it invests in, trying not just to build up a winning record but to show that the group can materially move races in favor of an ally. The goal, Nayak said, is to make it clear to politicians that there’s an electoral upside to sticking their neck out on the environment — and a price to pay for doing the reverse.

In 2012, LCV spent $15 million in some 15 elections, helping to vault committed environmental leaders like New Mexico’s Martin Heinrich and Virginia’s Tim Kaine into the Senate. So far this year, the group has mounted a major field program to help elect longtime climate advocate Ed Markey to the Senate in Massachusetts and plans to invest heavily in the 2013 Virginia governor’s race.

“One of the biggest differences is not just getting a vote but getting someone who’s going to lead and champion our issues,” said Nayak, who called the Virginia race “really the next phase of changing the politics on climate change.”

Born in Canada and educated at McGill and York University, he moved to the United States for personal reasons — “I followed a girl and stayed for the politics,” he explains. He’s been in Washington for a decade now, working largely at LCV and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Nayak is not a citizen yet, but he has put down permanent roots here, marrying an American three years ago. The Democratic political community will be glad to have him here for the long run.

Poersch, who now helps steer the Senate Majority PAC, lauded Nayak’s focus on “having real impact, both politically and legislatively.”

The candidates that LCV has helped elect haven’t forgotten it. Tom Lopach, chief of staff to LCV-backed Montana Sen. Jon Tester, said he was “overwhelmed and awed by the LCV political machine last year.”

“LCV’s political operation in 2012 was easily among the top five in the country. Their work made a difference in Montana, Massachusetts and elsewhere. And politicians take notice,” he said.